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World Toilet Day

19 November 2017

​Toilets save lives because human waste spreads killer diseases. However, 4.5 billion people live without a household toilet that safely disposes of their waste. World Toilet Day is about inspiring action to tackle the global sanitation crisis.

Using a clean toilet is something most of us take for granted. But for many people around the world this is not the case. Today, as many as 2.4 billion people or a third of the world's population lives without access to a toilet.

Some key facts (http://www.un.org/en/events/toiletday/):

  • 2.4 billion People live without improved sanitation

  • One in ten people has no choice but to defecate in the open

  • Diarrhoea caused by poor sanitation and unsafe water kills 315,000 children every year

  • Disease transmission at work mostly caused by poor sanitation and hygiene practices, causes 17% of all workplace deaths

  • Loss of productivity due to illnesses caused by lack of sanitation and poor hygiene practices is estimated to cost many countries up to 5% of GDP

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Goal 6 of the Sustainable Development Goals aims to 'Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all'. To learn more about basic sanitation and clean water, go to DGFF 2016 - Goal 6.